1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular to a computer implemented method, an apparatus and a computer program product for managing shipments in an order by proxy service.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional shopping involves, actions, such as, selecting an item, making a purchase and either taking the goods or arranging for the delivery of the goods. In the world of online shopping, the challenge lies in delivering the goods to the customer at a reasonable cost, as the opportunity for a customer to take the goods at the time of purchase often does not exist.
Current solutions attempt to address the delivery issue from the viewpoint of fulfillment after the orders have been processed. Differing solutions are present in the form of collection points for shipped items and delivering individual items to individual customers. Individual delivery has proven to be inefficient and troublesome due to the costs and timing of delivery. In many cases, the individual delivery solution while relatively expensive may fail to deliver the goods because the recipient was not at home at the time of delivery. In the event the recipient misses the initial delivery; the recipient typically has to travel to a distribution center of the delivery enterprise to pick up the item or wait for another attempted delivery of the item. This situation adds to both the cost and frustration in delivering items to purchasers.
Other solutions provide bulk shipments to collection points. Individual orders may also be handled within the bulk shipment such that the customer is still able to track and review the order and delivery status. With these solutions, again, the focus is on the fulfillment of orders as viewed from the shipping perspective.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method, apparatus, and computer program product for processing orders for items in a manner that overcomes some or all of the problems discussed above.